NEW DELHI: Luxury brands are going beyond private viewing, Sunday brunches and wine and cheese evenings to pamper the rich and the famous with differential experiences to win their loyalty. From Lamborghini to Judith Lieber to Pernod Ricard, a slew of luxury brands are offering test drive of super cars on F1 track, exotic international holidays, exclusive parlours for VIP shopping, exclusive relationship managers and shopping assistants to win the confidence of rich Indians. "The idea is to provide a moneycan't-buy experience," says Pavan Shetty, head operations at Lamborghini India, which this weekend invited 80 elite customers from across the country to test-drive the Rs 2.9-crore Gallardo Coupe on the Formula 1 track in Noida.

NEW DELHI: Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) has issued notice to the Lamborghini on a petition by Exclusive Motors against CCI rejecting allegations of market abuse by the Italian sport car maker. The COMPAT has directed Lamborghini to file its reply by March 21. It has also issued notice to fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI). "Issue Notice to the respondents (Lamborghini and CCI) returnable on March 21, 2013... accepts notice on behalf of the CCI," said a COMPAT bench headed by its Chairman Justice V S Sirpurkar in its order dated February 6. On November 6, 2012 CCI had rejected a complaint against Lamborghini by Exclusive Motors Private Ltd alleging abuse of dominant market position by the Italian sports car maker.

Lamborghini, the maker of super sports luxury cars from the Volkswagen Group , has launched its Aventador Roadster model in India at Rs 4.77 crore. The car has been selling well the world over, and the company hopes it do well in India too. Andrea Baldi , head of operations, South East Asia and Pacific at Automobili Lamborghini Asia-Pacific, talks about the future of super cars in India and how taxing the rich would affect super luxury cars' demand, in an interview. Edited excerpts: You sold about 17 cars in 2012, registering a 20% growth.

NEW DELHI: Italian luxury car-maker Lamborghini today said its global sales increased by over 30 per cent to 2,083 units in 2012 driven by robust performance in many markets, including India. "Automobili Lamborghini SpA increased worldwide deliveries to customers in 2012 from 1,602 to 2,083 units... strong demand continues for award-winning Aventador," the company said in a statement. During the year, the Asia Pacific region contributed 35 per cent of the global total sales. "India achieved sales growth of 21 per cent," Automobili Lamborghini said without sharing details.

MUMBAI: You buy a Ferrari when you want to be somebody. You buy a Lamborghini when you are somebody," said America's evergreen icon Frank Sinatra, who counted a 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400S among his fleet of luxury sedans and sports cars. Now, Manoj Lulla is not much of a 'do-be-do-be-do' man, but the Chennai-based businessman sure knows he is a "somebody". Trouble is there are way too many "somebodies" in post-reforms India - 158,000 millionaires to be precise, as per a latest Credit Suisse report.

MUMBAI: In one of the largest commercial lease transactions this year, German automobile maker Volkswagen has picked up over 1 lakh sq ft office space in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai to shift its India headquarters from Bandra-Kurla Complex, said two persons familiar with the development. The lease transaction with tenure of five years with an option to extend it by another five years has been concluded at Rs 130 per sq ft a month. The German carmaker's new India headquarters here will house almost all its operations, including auto finance and used cars business and brands including Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini on a total 105,000 sq ft space.

NEW DELHI: Competition Commission has rejected a complaint against Lamborghini that alleged abuse of dominant market position by the Italian sports car maker. Rejecting the plea, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said Lamborghini accounts for a small share in the country's super sports car market. "...the Commission is of the view that since the opposite party (Automobili Lamborghini S P A) is not dominant, there is no ground for directing DG to investigate the matter," the fair trade regulator said in an order on Tuesday.

Aston Martin is among the few iconic British sports car brands that have successfully withstood the test of time. The company completes 100 years of manufacturing in 2013 and has a long association with the world's most loved spy, James Bond, with its legendary model DB5, launched in India last year. Mark Kenworthy , General Manager - AMMENA (Aston Martin Middle East & North Africa) tells ET's Chanchal Pal Chauhan that the marquee brand, despite its late entry into the fast-growing ultra luxury car market in India, is banking on Aston Martin's heritage and exclusivity to take a lead.